How My Shortster looked when I bought it.
March of this year (1998) found me and a buddy Brian Hill, at Apache Auto
Salvage in Mansfield Texas. We were looking for parts for my 72 Impala
convertible. Well, we were on the way out when we stopped to take a look
at what turned out to be a mid-60's Italian moped. Well, that was not too
terribly interesting, so we turned to leave, but caught sight of this little
minicycle lying in the mud next to the moped. I saw the name "AMF Harley-Davidson"
on it, and thought hmm, that might be pretty neat. So, we went up to the
office, and they told me they would let me have it for 75 bucks. I said
OK, and we loaded it up in the trunk of my car. Here is a picture of it
right after unloading it. As you can see, it was a mess. The engine was
gone, as were most of the cables and switches, and it had obviously been
sitting outside for some time. I really had no idea what it was, but I
figured with that name on it, it had to be worth something. Below are some
more pictures of what I was up against:
The
brakes were locked up solid when I got it. But, with some steel wool and
some grease they were working fine in no time.
I choose this picture because it shows the rock-like mud that was all over
the bottm of this bike. It took me a long time with a brush and scraper
to get it all off!
For some unknown reason, the previous owner mangled the wiring harness.
It was literally cut to pieces, and odd things done to it, like this condenser
mounted externally from the magento.
Wires cut, rust all over everything. But, at least the tank was still there,
as were the fenders and the headlight! So too was the VIN, indentifying
the bike as the rarest of the rare, a 1972 Shortster!
Email
Us!!
Back To
The Shortster Home Page